A professional headshot doesn’t have to be the only reason you step in front of the camera.

Chloe works in the corporate world as well as being a celebrant, so her studio session was a mixture of professional headshots and portraits that were simply about creating photographs she felt great in.

We worked through multiple outfits and several different studio setups, giving her everything from clean, professional images through to portraits that felt a little more relaxed and editorial.

Different looks from one studio session

We created quite a bit of variety without ever leaving the studio.

Using professional studio lighting, an olive backdrop and a warm toffee-toned setup gave us some of the richer portraits, while the white wall and natural window light created a softer, brighter look.

Chloe also brought several outfits, including more polished corporate options alongside pieces that were less about work and more about creating beautiful portraits of herself.

The result was a gallery that could serve more than one purpose without every photograph needing to look traditionally corporate.

Feeling comfortable in front of the camera

You don’t need to arrive knowing how to pose. In fact, I’d much rather you didn’t spend the week before your shoot practising mysterious new hand positions in the mirror. 😂

A huge part of photographing people is helping them feel comfortable once they’re actually in front of the camera.

I guide posing throughout the session, but I’m also looking at all the little things that change an image. Posture, hands, expression, where your weight is sitting, what the light is doing and which angles work for you.

The goal isn’t to photograph everybody in exactly the same way. It’s to find what works for the person standing in front of me.

Professional can still feel like you

For women in professional roles, there’s often a strange assumption that a headshot needs to be quite formal to be taken seriously.

It doesn’t.

We can create the polished image you need for LinkedIn, your website or professional profiles, while also creating something warmer, more relaxed or with a little more personality.

And if you’re already making the effort to get photographed, I think there’s something pretty great about leaving with photographs that aren’t only useful for work.